(1) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a device for automatically unloading fabric from a dyeing or finishing range, such as a jet dyeing machine, and, more particularly, a portable device for unloading fabric which is readily adaptable to a broad range of machinery.
(2) Description of the Prior Art
The production of fabric is a generally sequential process that ultimately finishes with a completed fabric of a certain type, color, and size or other predetermined specification. One of the steps of this process may be dyeing the fabric and then unloading it from the dye system in order to move the product along to the next step in the process. To facilitate transportation, the fabric is often unloaded from the dye system into tubs where it can be transported to the next downstream process or stored until needed. During a typical day of operation, the dye systems are in continuous use but are only unloaded on a periodic basis.
Previous attempts to automate the unloading process have had numerous drawbacks or other constraints. The dye system and the surrounding plant facility place a size constraint on the unloader. The dye systems are often placed in close proximity to other machinery to maximize the amount of dyeing equipment at one facility and production capability. Unfortunately, the close spacing of the machinery requires that unloading devices be relatively small to fit within the close dimensions. Previous unloaders are either too cumbersome to move in the tight quarters or require too much space.
Another drawback of existing unloaders is that a single facility may use a variety of dyeing ranges each having different physical dimensions, such as the placement and size of fabric removal ports. Previous unloading systems were adapted to fit only one specific type of machine and are unable to be used on other machinery having different physical dimensions. This requires that specific unloaders be purchased for each type of dyeing range which is expensive and also takes additional floor space in an already congested area. Alternatively, the unloaders are placed on each individual dye systems. This usage, however, is prohibitively expensive, an inefficient use of resources that require unnecessary duplication of a resource that is only periodically used, and sometimes impossible given space constraints.
Previous unloading systems have also required additional material handling of the fabric. Certain unloaders induced twists and bunches in the fabric which stretched the fabric and introduced other defects that required the fabric to be detwisted before further processing can be performed. Additionally, previous unloaders could not maintain a high unloading speed to keep the process flowing efficiently.
One type of previous unloader used a coiled removal system. This rotational system unloaded the dyeing range into a device similar to a large funnel. The funnel then coiled the fabric into tubs which were then pushed to the next downstream process. The funnel operated in a manner similar to a rope, causing twisting and stretching problems. This removal system did not meet the speed requirements, and did not use the tubs efficiently, as the coiled placement of the fabric did not fill the tub corners and center requiring the use of additional tubs to move the material and shutting down the unloader as the tubs were changed out.
Thus, there remains a need for a dye system unloading device that is capable of automatically unloading fabric from a dyeing range, such as a jet dyeing machine, at a high speed and reloadable in a short period of time while, at the same time, may be easily moved from dyeing range to dyeing range as needed.